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Cold crisp day – after a wet January
Having completed Benarty Hill in the morning, we were looking forward to a pretty straightforward walk with some nice hilltop views and a bit of history with the forts. Got them all! However, much of the walk was pretty muddy and boggy, not surprising after the previous few weeks rain and snow.
Car park was easy enough to find, following the instructions on this site and the signposts by the road...with spaces for maybe 5 or 6 cars if carefully parked.
- The information board at the start of the walk was useful, marking the various routes.
We took the red route
Easy going to start with, wide but wet forest trail type path gently rising as we headed westwards through the trees. After 25 minutes or so of mainly uninteresting walk, there was a wonderful bank of snowdrops to the left
- Nice photo opportunity
As the path gets to its closest point to the motorway, it veers away, narrows to a single person path and starts upwards. Not too steep, but needs effort, and eventually gets to the far end of the route and suddenly opens out to great views over Perth to the north.
Heading back into the trees, we deviated from the red route a wee bit and up to the first of the two forts, Moncrieffe Hill Fort – another good landmark with a trig point...and a nice place to sit a short while for a cuppa and cheeky chocolate treat....about 75 minutes into the walk.
- Views down the motorway towards the south and the Lomond Hills
Dropping down back towards the main route, the directions to the main fort were obvious
We headed directly for Moredun, the highest point of the walk marked with a cairn. It had great views all round
- Looking northwards with fellow walkhighlands member InMyOwnTime posing for snap.
- West towards the snaking river Earn as it passes through Bridge of Earn down toward the Tay.
- To the east along the Tay estuary
- And finally South....and the old stone slab with a deep hole in it
This slab is very similar to the one along Monks Rigg in the Pentlands. Perhaps this one has the same use of a place to hold a cross or something of that kind??
Heading back onto the red route, through more very muddy patches, we meandered down through the trees as it became less interesting again – though the occasional glimpse of open space was nice.
- West Lomond Hill was particularly good
We had walked this (and East Lomond) the previous week....well worth doing both of those for more southerly views over the East Neuk and Forth.
The route zig zags a bit as we headed gently downhill, passing some upturned trees with remarkable exposed roots that appear to be fused together
- Scale kindly provided by Mrs IMOT
Eventually, the route completes the loop and arrives back onto the starting path – about 10 minutes from the end.
All in all, a forest walk with a couple of interesting forts to take in....but with some wonderful scenic views in most directions when out of the trees....which actually made it a nice one to complete. I would expect in summer for it to be drier and an easier walk, but much busier...so parking might be a problem.